DAIR.AI's Elvis Saravia and Beff argue AI raises developer ROI, driving higher demand for software engineers
Beff says output remains proportional to total engineering headcount.
I am sure it looks similar for researchers, too.
All this talk about AI replacing engineers is just talk. Very little evidence to back it.
David Sacks@DavidSacksQ: How are job postings for software engineers rising rapidly despite AI agents automating coding? A: Because there’s far more code to manage than ever before. We’re already seeing a 14x YoY increase in GitHub commits, and it’s accelerating. AI has dramatically lowered the cost of writing code, so it’s now being used across far more businesses, applications, and use cases. We’re at the beginning of a massive productivity boom driven by the proliferation of bespoke software throughout the entire economy. Coding has been AI’s breakout use case this year. The fact that it’s increased demand for software engineers — rather than decreased it — should call into question the entire “AI will cause mass job loss” narrative.
And if you are more curious about predictions and how to better model what could change and how, check out this relevant talk from Stanford.
I enjoyed the "Weak links" argument made here, and it's super relevant to all these discussions.
elvis@omarsar0I am sure it looks similar for researchers, too. All this talk about AI replacing engineers is just talk. Very little evidence to back it.
#839Beff (e/acc)@BEFFJEZOSAnybody managing SW engineers armed with AIs know that company output is still proportional to how many SWEs you have on staff.
Arguably now each SWE is far more valuable in terms of impact and ROI, leading companies to want to hire more SWEs.
AI job Doomer narrative violation
David Sacks@DavidSacksQ: How are job postings for software engineers rising rapidly despite AI agents automating coding? A: Because there’s far more code to manage than ever before. We’re already seeing a 14x YoY increase in GitHub commits, and it’s accelerating. AI has dramatically lowered the cost of writing code, so it’s now being used across far more businesses, applications, and use cases. We’re at the beginning of a massive productivity boom driven by the proliferation of bespoke software throughout the entire economy. Coding has been AI’s breakout use case this year. The fact that it’s increased demand for software engineers — rather than decreased it — should call into question the entire “AI will cause mass job loss” narrative.